Force of Life: Redux
by EmyAV
Summary: The Jedi Order and the Sith are at war. The Jedi knowingly recruit a past ally and recent enemy; for better or for worse. With the introduction of a hole in the Force, will things go as planned for the Jedi?
1. New Beginnings Part One

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over anything Star Wars.**

* * *

From my bedroom, I heard my cellphone's Nightcore ringtone, in the distance. I searched all over the apartment looking for it. I have a bad habit of keeping my things in places where I can't find them…my phone stopped ringing for ma few seconds before ringing again. I ended up finding the phone sandwiched between two sofa cushions in the living room. It was my sister calling me.

"Hello?" I answered.

"What are you doing?!" she asked angrily. My sister and I usually have conversations that seemed…weird, to others.

"Nothing at all…Still coming over?" I asked.

"Nope. I ran out of train fare and don't feel like paying for more. I'll head over some other time." she replied.

"Ana!" I whined.

"Shut up. I have to go. Talk to you later. Love you, bye." I sighed as my sister hung up the phone. We always managed to never spend time together despite living so close to each other.

I considered inviting my friends over for a girls night out but decided against it. Half of my friends would be in church while the others would be working of taking care of their kids…Since it was hot out and I didn't feel like going to the gym, or putting on pants for that matter (stupid meme), I would turn on my Xbox…Again. Skyrim was already inside of the disc thingie so I played that. My game saves were in the beginning of the cave where you killed all those Draugur for Namira. Immediately after starting, a Deathlord charged after my character, a Dunmer assassin, nearly killing me. I ran for the exit, letting Eola become the monsters punching bag. I kinda felt bad for her so I used the summon Spectral Assassin spell.

I watched the Spectral Assassin's health bar lower quickly while I healed my character. It wasn't even a minute before Lachance was a puddle of ectoplasm on the ground and Eola was on her knees. The Deathlord came after my character and made quick work of me. I rage quit and quit the game. I chose to switch to Minecraft. Against my better judgment, I set the game to hard. It was night and I was spawned in front of a "toolshed" that I had created for farm tools. I tried to rush to my main home, located behind the toolshed, and ended up falling into a Creeper hole that I had created. Unfortunately for me, there was a Super Creeper, as well as several normal Creepers, Zombies and Skeletons in the hole. I'm not sure which killed my first, the Super Creeper explosion which led to a chain explosion, or a bunch of angry Skeletons or hungry Zombies. All I knew was that the explosion destroyed the back of my toolshed along with whatever storage boxes were located on the wall.

I'm usually passive, but my nerves were fried. Gaming tended to do that to me. So, I decided it would be best for a cool shower. It was unusually hot since a heat wave was going to hit my home city the next day. I grabbed my phone in case anyone called or texted and my IPod Touch to listen to music while I showered. My phone vibrated as soon as I adjusted the water.

Being that my devices were on the edge of the nearby hamper, my phone vibrated the IPod onto the ground. I leaned forward to pick up the IPod when a familiar feeling hit me. All the symptoms felt as if they occurred all at once. My head started throbbing, my vision blurred from dizziness. Imagine the feeling after twirling around in circles and multiplying that by five. My legs started to feel heavy with the rest of my body soon followed suit. I was doubled over, holding on tightly to the edge of the sink and bathtub. My lower back felt like hell, like someone took a sword in the area in my spine just above my pelvis. In addition, my heart pumped so fast that that it felt like I had run for dear life. My breathing was labored probably because of my heart rate. I was having another major panic attack.

The first time I had had one like this was this past October. I had thought that I was having a weird combination of heart attack, seizure and stroke. That time I had called for emergency services and was taken to a hospital. This time I was prepared. After the dizziness started to subside, I made my way to the living room. My two purses were on a makeshift end table in between our loveseat and sofa. I rummaged through my crap purse; one of my purses always acted as storage for things I thought I would need eventually in my main purse, and looked for my medicine bottle. I swallowed the last pill and sat for a moment.

Being that I hadn't needed the medicine for a long time, it started to take effect quickly. I went over to my kitchen to snack on pretzels and water to prevent the medicine from reacting negatively with my stomach. What would've probably taken five minutes felt like half an hour. Normally, the medicine would be used to control seizures in higher doses. In lower doses, it could control panic attacks. Side effects included drowsiness, fatigue, and lack of attention.

I went over to the living room to lie down. Now, I wasn't one to make the best decisions. It probably wasn't "best" to sleep in an apartment alone in "the hood" in New York City alone. Or maybe that's me being paranoid.

* * *

I don't know what happened; but I woke up in a hospital room tied up to a whole bunch of crap. There were huge needles in my arm that were attached to IV's and all sorts of stickers and hooks all over me attached to advanced looking machines on either side of my shoulders. I think this might be the only time where I could honestly say I was scared shitless. A million thoughts ran through my head. They were obvious ones, like, "what happened to me?"; "I don't feel that anything's wrong with me…"; "why am I in a hospital?"; and "how did I even get here?"

Like I'm sure most people would do when finding themselves in a strange place, I checked my surroundings to see if I could recognize something. There was a white privacy curtain to my right; kind of like the ones seen in a hospital. That would be an indication that I was sharing the room with someone…My observations were proven correct when a person on the other side of the curtain spoke to someone else in a language I didn't know. The other person replied in the same language, a female speaking to a male from what I could guess.

Rather than try to piece what they were saying, I looked to my left, seeing a window that covered most of the wall. So much for privacy…let's just hope it's one way glass…I could see in the distance that there were hovering vehicles speeding by in straight lines. They reminded me of the speeders in Star Wars. Or were the cars in Star Wars called airspeeders? I'm a shitty Star Wars fan. Be nice to me, please.

Anyway, the speeders were, well, speeding past gigantic skyscrapers with rounded tops. My heart started beating quickly again; this time not as quickly as before. I was fairly certain that anyone, whether they wanted to admit to it or not, would be a tad bit worried if they mysteriously ended up somewhere that didn't seem even the slightest bit familiar. There were a series of loud, urgent beeps behind me. I'm sure one of the things stuck to me that was attached to a machine that monitored my heart rate. "_No shit, Sherlock._" I mentally rolled my eyes at myself.

The man that had been speaking to the woman beside me hopped over to my side of the curtain to check on me. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw nothing wrong and flashed a warm smile. The man, whom looked like a human but vaguely, looked like an alien species I couldn't put my finger on, did something with the machines to make the beeps return to an IV that was connected to me. I felt a sense of calm and the heart monitor returned to its steady pace.

"Good afternoon, young lady. Gave me quite a scare there…" he said. I gave him an "oh shit" stare. Since this doctor was only inches away from me, I noticed his reddish purple hair and unnaturally pink complexion. A Zeltron! It was one of those situations where you wouldn't have much of a reaction seeing it in a movie or game; but when that thing was staring you in your face; you react differently than you thought you would.

The doctor raised an eyebrow at my expression. "I'm sorry about that…" I said awkwardly. One thing you can count on is me being awkward in a conversation.

"How are you feeling?" the man asked kindly.

"I feel fine, thank you. Where am I?" I asked.

"You are in a hospital in the Upper City. You're fortunate you ended up in a hospital up here. Lower City hospitals aren't as good as those in the Upper City." said the doctor. My brain had a big WTF moment. I didn't know where "Upper City" or "Lower City" were, the locations went straight past my head. My life revolved was mainly confined within a very small area of Brooklyn in New York City.

"Uh-huh." I paused. "Mind telling who you are, doc? And why I'm here?"

"I'm Sergeant Zan Zur. You came here after getting into a scuffle with, according to several eyewitness reports, a few members with one of the Lower City gangs. They were likely a swoop gang. You had a few fractured bones, some bruises, scratches, and a contusion…The kolto helped with the nastier injuries you received. You can tough out the minor stuff." smiled Dr. Zur.

"You're a funny man, Doctor Zur. I got into a fight with a gang that I don't remember at all." I said. I've honestly never been in a fight before and so I couldn't imagine getting into one with a gang. For some reason, however, I don't think the good old doctor believed me. Maybe it had something to do with the quick change of his facial expression.

"Must be a bout of amnesia relating to your head injuries." replied Doctor Zur. He looked distracted for a moment before continuing. "I have to run off. A nurse will be in shortly to tend to you. Shortly afterwards, if you're ready, you will speak to someone to follow up on that attack of yours. Good day." If the doctor moved any faster, he would have been running out of the room.

If his behavior was bizarre, Sergeant Zur was bizarre on a different level. If I knew anything about Star Wars, it's strange for a Zeltron to have a name that would be better suited to a Zalbrak…Besides that, why would he have a rank? Did he act like a drill sergeant or something? Was he a veteran at one point and the title stuck? Ranks _are _used by the military and police force, that's a given. But, doctors wouldn't normally use them. Perhaps I was in a military hospital? That would seem to explain it the rank. It would also explain the vague answer to the question about my location. A doctor would say something along the lines of "you're in insert name of hospital here in insert location here". I'm almost certain it was against a code or law to keep my in the blue like that. Since the military were generally (and by that, I mean mostly) not spill secrets to civilians, that would definitely explain it.

I swear; I'm so slow sometimes. I should learn to catch onto what people are and aren't saying. But still, why would I be in a military hospital, not a civilian one?

I think I'm going to have an epiphany in: three, two, and one: the Upper City and Lower City were on a planet called Taris in Knights of the Old Republic. A lot of self-inserts I've read started with the military in some way…

Oh dear. Omigosh. Oh boy!

* * *

When Sergeant Zur told me to expect a nurse and an interrogator; I didn't expect for a rude nurse with the strength of two men to drag me out of my bed in the middle of the night to a small gray interrogation room. The nurse, a female human by the name of Aleane Mindar, quickly injected me with a clear liquid after sitting me down on a chair furthest away from the entrance to the room. What the injection did was unclear since I didn't feel a thing.

The nurse finally left and, what felt like several hours, had passed before an officer in a light gray uniform walked into the room with a soldier by his side in shiny steel and black armor. The officer sat down in a chair in front of me; a small neutral gray table separating us. I felt as if I were in a scene of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Except in my case, I didn't have Mariska Hargitay playing the good cop and Christopher Meloni playing as bad cop whom was really a good guy at heart. Both of the men in front of me were all bad cop; the soldier playing the role of being the physical type with the officer / interrogator looking the type that would rather play mind games. A little voice in my head said, "_No shit, Sherlock. You're dealing with Sith here_. _Their either brutes or manipulative witches like Ysanne Isard._"

The officer cleared his throat. "Corporal Phet; begin recording." The soldier clicked a small device that beeped. He placed it on the center of the table and the officer began speaking. "This is Lieutenant Krenis Keler presiding over the interrogation of a young female human detainee whom is, as of yet, currently an unidentified individual. Corporal Phet is serving as security. Young woman; what is your name and age?"

I looked at him with a slightly shocked looked. What would I be detained for? Getting beat up by a gang? Aren't detainees detained for political reasons; not for being victims of a gang fight they don't even remember occurring? Either way; my experience with the canon movies, video games, and fanfics made my spidey senses tingle. If my previous knowledge were anything to go by; I'm pretty sure the number one rule was to avoid lipping off during a Sith interrogation…But neither was it advised that I lie or take my sweet ass time. From the impatient look that Keler is wearing on his face, I was definitely taking too long to answer.

"I'm nineteen…My name is Emily Valle. The "v" is pronounced like a "b" and the "ll's" are pronounced like a "y"." I replied timidly, looking down at my thumbs and twiddling them. Keler raised an eyebrow.

"What is the name of your homeworld?" he asked.

I considered giving him the name Earth, but I doubt that would be an acceptable answer. "Almost everyone calls the planet Earth. I think the more scientific name for it would be Gaia or something like that." I replied, looking him in the eyes briefly. They were beautiful green eyes; kind of like those really green Photoshopped eyes that you could only see in magazines.

"I've never heard of the planet. What system is it located in?" asked Keler.

"The Sol System." I replied.

"The Sol System?" asked Keler. "I don't believe you."

"We live in a giant universe that will probably never be explored in its entirety in our lifespans. You can't know everything." I retorted. I could have sworn I saw the sun and its stars when Phet, the solider, slapped me. I felt like crying, but tried to hold it in. "_It's a sign of weakness too early in this interrogation_." I reasoned with myself. A deep breath calmed me down a bit. My eyes were still watering, my face still swelling up and turning red.

"You will cooperate, Emily. I, nor Corporal Phet, are in the mood for sarcasm or humor this evening." snapped Keler. When were these Sith ever in the mood for having a good time? "I expect you to be honest in our conversation. If we find out you lied, the next session will not consist of slaps. Now; do you have any family?"

" A mom, dad, step-parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents…There's a lot of us." I replied. I had to admit, I flinched a bit when the good Lieutenant shifted in his seat.

The officer let out a deep sigh. "On to business, what do you remember of the reported attack against you?"

"Of the attack, I remember nothing at all. However, I _can_ tell you what I do remember before the attack." I replied.

"Go on." ordered Keler.

"I had had a panic attack before taking a shower. I took some medicine, ate a few pretzels and drank a bit if water. Next thing you know, I'm lying in a hospital bed feeling like I got myself into a bar fight gone horribly wrong. I look around and I realize I'm in a hospital in a strange city. A Zeltron, I think his name was Zan Zurr, he called himself a sergeant, came to check on me after my heart monitor beeped like crazy. I freaked out about being in said hospital bed in said strange city. Zurr told me that I was attacked by several gang members from a Lower City swoop gang. He said there were witnesses to my attack. I told him that I didn't remember any attacks. For that matter; I don't remember getting on this planet. The doctor told me that I was probably suffering from a bout of acute amnesia. One of my injuries happened to be a mean concussion." I replied.

"Your memory seems to be clear now." I opened my mouth to interrupt but Keler continued. "Your story is strange when compared to our intelligence. It is from my understanding that, yes, the Lower City gangs have been more violent in recent years. But; why would several members of one of the nobler gangs, if you can call a gang noble, want to attack a helpless young woman so viciously. More importantly; why would Davik Kang and Lord Bandon abruptly take an interest in a person of low status?"

What a heaping load of random of information to drop on me. What the frag would a big time crime lord and a Sith apprentice want with a nobody? The fuck did I do to warrant that kind of attention? Just WTF? And on top of that, why would a gang want to mess with me? Unfortunately, I couldn't collect my thoughts as there was a constant reminder, Keler's sighs and drumming of fingers on the table, to snap me out of my thoughts. "I have no idea. Maybe…" I began to say, my teeth stopping my tongue from letting loose. For whatever the reason, it dawned on me that the injection I was given by the nurse was likely the Star Wars equivalent of a truth serum. Except in this universes' case, the serum actually worked. If I were to think about it; the serum probably wasn't a truth serum but more like hormones that got you to loosen up…

"Maybe what?" asked the Lieutenant impatiently.

I breathed in deeply to give me time to think before speaking. "Maybe you and your friend there can drop me off at Bandon's doorstep and we can sort this mess out on our own." I suggested, shrugging my shoulders. I'm pretty surprised I didn't get knocked unconscious for that one. That sort of speech seemed to piss off the bad guys in every fic.

"We can do that. However; it would be much easier for you to just tell us what you know now. Lord Bandon is a very busy man, you see, and has much more important matters to attend to. We would very much appreciate your cooperation here. I ask again. What could you have possibly done to gain the interest of the two more powerful Lower City gangs, Davik Kang, and the attention of Lord Bandon?" From what I can remember reading in fan fics, force sensitives tend to feel a disturbance or a void in the Force when an OC drops into the Star Wars universe. That would explain Bandon's interest. If Bandon, an important Sith, took an interest in me, there might be a reason for Davik to take an interest in me as well. That chain trickled down to the gangs of Taris taking an interest in me. I suppose my thought is a longshot, but as good a shot as any.

"I feel…" I paused for a moment, pretending to be in deep thought before I continued speaking. "…that Lord Bandon might be a pretty powerful, ambitious even, type of guy. Those types tend to have certain instincts. They know what to look out for. Earlier this afternoon, I was watching a news report about a shuttle crash in the Lower City. Maybe that, combined with my attack, got some attention."

"Nice try. Your explanation doesn't provide any sort of acceptable answer to my questioning. For example, _why_ were you attacked by the gangs? Why would Davik take an interest in you? Not only that; but the events of the shuttle crash and your attack aren't connected in any way. We make sure to do an investigation to get our facts straight, young woman." replied Keler. Luckily for me; I tend to be a decent bullshitter when I really need to be.

"Why do gangs ever do what they do? Maybe I looked like I had some valuables. Maybe I had the wrong outfit on. Back on the homeworld, gangs would have at you for wearing the wrong clothing. Sometimes, the gangs would get you to prove something. Beside; maybe the members of this "nobler" gang are a bunch of corrupt guys transitioning into a seedier gang. As for Davik, maybe he's interested because I caused enough of a ruckus that made a lot of gangs interested in me."

Lieutenant Keler looked as if he seriously considered what I said and smiled. "If you joined the Sith, we might be able to polish you up a bit. You might be a half decent addiction to intelligence." He let out a chuckle. "Don't try to manipulate me; I've been doing this for far too long for that to work. Phet, inject her with more serum." The soldier pulled out what looked like a medpac from his tool belt. Inside were a syringe and more of the clear liquid in a tiny glass bottle. He injected me with more of the truth serum and I felt a warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach.

"Tell us what you know and we will be able to get through this quickly and painlessly." said Keler.

Whatever the serum was supposed to do, worked. I wanted to do or say anything to appease the Sith. I wanted to believe whatever they were to tell me. However, there was still a voice in my head that prevented me from lying. Lying, giving into my impulses, would give me immediate gratification. Telling the truth, ignoring those impulses, would bother me to no end but will give me peace of mind later on in the road. It might even make things easier on me.

"Emily. Tell us what you know." pressed Keler.

"I don't know anything about the Lower Gangs or Davik or Bandon…" I began to cry. "I really was at home. I could give you my exact location and the time before I passed out and ended up here. The time was approximately one-thirty in the afternoon. It was July thirteenth. I was in the borough of Brooklyn, in the City of New York, in the state of New York, in a country called the United States of America, on the North American continent, on the plant Gaia which is located in the Sol System, which is located in a galaxy that we call the Milky Way galaxy. It's a stupid name, I know! Anyway, I was eating a baked good called the pretzel and drinking water. You know - something essential to human life? I fell asleep on my couch after taking some medicine to control my anxiety and I woke up in a hospital bed. I encountered my first alien ever on a planet I have never been to, in a part of the universe I've never been to. Then I find out that I'm in a military hospital after being beat up by a gang. The whole time I'm trying to figure out why I'm not in a civilian hospital. Now I'm being interrogated by the military about some petty shit I don't even know about!" I ranted. I realized I had stood up and was pacing back and forth in my small corner of the room. The officer wore a surprised look. I could imagine the soldier was just as surprised at my outburst just as the officer and I were.

"What do you two want from me? A false confession? A lie? You'll only find out and I'll be in more trouble! I wish I had something to say. I want to have something to say. I want to make you happy. But I have nothing." By this time, I had nothing left to say. My breathing was labored and I was in tears.

Lieutenant Keler sighed. "Lieutenant Keler here with Corporal Phet and the now identified detainee, Emily Valle. Session one over." Phet pulled out a set of binders and tied my hands behind my back. I was lead to a detention center and put into a small cell. My cell was shared with a tough looking man. I sat down on whatever the thing was that passed for a bed and looked at my shoes.

How wonderful. I get arrested in a foreign place that I know nothing about and get stuck with someone that might make me their girlfriend. I just hope that all the fan fiction stories were right about that mandatory meet and greet with the big boss and the hero(es), in my case Lord Bandon / Malak and Revan / Carth / Bastila respectively, would come by way sooner rather than later.

* * *

**Author's Note: Please review.**


	2. New Beginnings Part Two

**-Waron Khaar-**

* * *

_Nar Shaddaa is the planet to go to if you want to hide from the law. It's the worst planet to end upon if you want to attract the wrong kind of attention. After all; it is the largest moon of the Hutt homeworld, Nal Hutta, as well as serving as a base for all sorts of criminal activity. Namely serving as the base planet of the Exchange, a crime syndicate known for its activities involving spice smuggling, extortion, weapon trafficking, slave trading, and bounty hunting. It was also a group that happened to be in a crime war with the Hutt Cartel at one point or another._

_The locals, whom many, surprisingly, had no connection with the local gangs, were just as bad as the stench and gangs that ruled the moon that is Nar Shaddaa…_

* * *

"Chaos take me!"

Relax, Captain Khaar. We'll get this baby up and running in no time…There isn't that much damage to the ship."

"I'm pretty sure you were onboard with us when an ion cannon shot us down, Val'sil!"

"It's not the worst that happened. Me and Koshak can fix the ship. The droids did a quick survey and there seems to only be a few short circuits and a disabled system here and there. It's nothing all too serious. We'll get to working on what was disabled first, clearly, although; I think it might take a few hours to get the job done."

"Cut the chit chat and get to it then." I said sarcastically. "In case you don't remember," I walked closer to the Lethan Twi'lek and whispered, "I'm a bit jittery considering I don't think the Hutts on Nal Hutta will be too happy about their spice being in our cargo hold on their moon. Get to it. I'll get to finding out who took us down…So…I'll be in a cantina somewhere. Comm me if anything."

"Typical. He has his fun while we do all the work." mumbled Koshak in Twi'leki.

"He's a hell of a lucky bastard though. C'mon let's get to it, brother." Val'sil motioned to the Flaming Ruby with his hand.

The Pazaak Den, located in the Nar Shaddaa Entertainment Promenade, was packed despite it being midday local time. Figures. There's probably a load of scammers waiting for the right, good ol' folk that would come here during their lunch break. I headed to the bar left of the entrance and motioned for the bartender, a Duros, to come over. "Give me something strong. Keep 'em coming." Typical Nar Shaddaa behavior, but when in Rome, do as the Romans. Where did that thought even come from? Romans? I have had the most bizarre thoughts as of late.

My drink came quickly; a purple thing that looked like it had the consistency of slime but was as liquid as water wS, if that made any sense, and headed toward the furthest pazaak table. The closer to the bar you were, the more crowded the table. After all, some people needed to drink when they're losing money.

At the table I sat at, the game was just about to start. The table made a semi-circle in front of a Bith dealer. To my right, closest to the dealer, there was a man whom introduced himself as a retired Republic soldier, and a Bothan seated between the soldier and. To my left, closest to the dealer, sat a Gand. A female Twi'lek sat closest to me. "Pretty diverse group." I said jokingly. The Republic soldier gave a chuckle and all our other guests sat stone faced. On a crime infested planet, you learn to ignore the nice ones, no matter how sincere they might have been.

On Nar Shaddaa, the rules of pazaak worked differently than anywhere else. The main goal was to reach twenty, or close to it; as with any other game of pazaak. However; you were given a side deck by the dealer rather than your own since planet rules didn't allow the players to bring their own. This was to ensure cheating didn't occur; although people found a way to cheat either way. I shuffled the deck I was given and pulled four cards from the top. Five, five, four, and three. All positives. Not the best hand I've had. I put fifty credits into the pot. Another house rule on Nar Shaddaa was that most games didn't put a limit on the amount of credits you could play. The dealer pressed a button and the game started.

A hologram of a yellow card popped up by the Gand. It was a six. The alien called for an end turn. The Twi'lek went next and received a yellow three card. She put a five down and called an end turn. I went up next and got a ten. "End turn for me." I said. The Bothan got an eight, put down a positive five card, and called an end turn. The Republic soldier got a four, added a positive four and ended his turn. Silly people. Everyone knows to hold off on adding cards until after the first turn.

After an hour, the soldier and I were the winners of the table. Needless to say, the rest of our playmates ran off elsewhere and the soldier took a seat beside me.

"So; what brings you here?" he asked. Clichéd; I know.

"Business." I said. Again, I know; clichéd.

"Business as usual on Nar Shaddaa, right?" he asked, letting out another chuckle and putting down a card on the table. He had reached nineteen and called for a hold. My turn came up, a yellow card bringing me up to twenty exactly. Both of us had played fifty credits so I won a hundred credits this round.

"Good game. Another round? This time we bring the bet up to eighty credits?" asked the soldier.

"Sure." I replied. The dealer waited a few minutes to give other players a chance to join our table.

No one came so it would only be the soldier and I playing this round.

"What's an ex-Republic soldier doing on Nar Shaddaa?" I finally asked. A stupid question at that. You don't ask people what business they have on a dangerous planet.

The man was clearly trying to come up with an answer. That screamed trouble considering the surroundings. "I'm indulging in the darker pleasures of life and doing some recruiting on the side. There are a lot of people on this smell hunk of rock with special talents." said the soldier. "By the way, I'm Joe Tsark, pleasure to meet you."

Very strange. Better keep a close eye on my pockets and keep an open mind.

"Jhoren Flast." I replied; giving the soldier one of the fake names I had up my sleeve. To be fair, he was probably doing the same. The soldier flashed another annoying smile. We played another few rounds, both of us losing and wining, coming up even in the end with no one winning or losing credits. A few eyes, most from bouncers checking on whether or not we were cheating, turned to us, albeit slyly.

"Interesting." replied Joe. He lowered his voice and asked with feigned interest, "Hey; do you know anything about that ship that crashed into that abandoned landing pad earlier? I hear it was the result of a deal gone bad." My face felt as if it drained of all color and I felt my heartbeat quicken in its pace.

"I'm sure there are a lot of ships that inconspicuously crash into Nar Shaddaa." I replied diplomatically. Speaking of ships that landed in an abandoned landing pad; I should probably check on Val'Sil and Koshack. I should try to get away from my table buddy after this round.

"I also heard through some gossip around the Promenade that two mechanics were found trying to repair the ship…I think the ship ended up being scrapped."

What a bluff. This place would be buzzing with the news that a ship full of the Hutt's spice was found.

"I wouldn't be surprised." I said nonchalantly. "Scrapped for parts only or something more interesting? Like tying a few knots?"

The soldier was silent for a moment before replying. "Hey, Jhoren? How about we make a deal?" Joe lowered his voice. "I know about your little operation. A few of my…associates, happened to be in the area. With all the great tech your ship has, it couldn't conceal the loads of spice it contained. At least, not after being blasted out of the sky via an ion cannon and having most of your systems shut down. This is looking pretty bad for you. If word gets out about your shipment, you're going to have a lot of people on this rock wanting to know what's going on. They aren't the least of your worries, however. My associates and I have been following you around since you received your shipment. It seems like there are a few bounties and arrest warrants for you and your crew. I offer you a deal out. What do you say?" asked Joe, with a smile of course.

"Let's see about what I have to say…" I looked around the room. "I think you're bluffing and are a slimy bastard."

"You're luck's run out, friend." said Joe. As if the day weren't clichéd enough; he won the round of pazaak that we were playing, thus earning almost two hundred credits. "You turn away from conscription into the Republic and we make a scene here in front of everyone. A few of the bouncers and my friend the dealer are all undercover. In other words, this is a sting, Waron. Come with us and join the Republic. You get in, say, ten years or so of service, and we let you go on probation for a few years after that. You fight us; you go to jail, lose the chance to see daylight, and get stuck in a mine doing hard labor. I'll ask again. What do you say?" Jhoren looked into my eyes, still smiling. "Think about it for a second."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath through my nose, and let out a deep sigh.

* * *

**-Two months later-**

_A young woman ran ahead of the strike team that had just boarded the Sith Lord Revan's flagship. A blur of gray and silver was all the woman could see as she ran past numerous troops; reflecting the occasional blaster bolt back at the enemy with her lightsaber or using the Force to toss a grenade back to its original owner. She looked back momentarily. Three men were down; the scorch marks of several plasma grenades on the durasteel floors giving indication as to their cause of death. Three of the remaining men in the squad were barely managing to keep up; one of them being coated in the residue of an adhesive grenade and the other two shrugging off injuries that were caused by a well-placed blaster bolt._

_ The gray and silver blur soon had eventually merged with a reddish color as higher ranking troops joined in on the fight. "Come on! We need to get to the bridge!" shouted the woman. The blur of colors soon turned into all black. Ahead of them were two women and one man; all wearing a twisted version of the Jedi Order's robes. "Sith!"_

_ The hissing of igniting lightsabers filled the room; the smell of ozone in the air. There was a fierce clash of blue, violet, purple, yellow, and red as the Sith and Jedi fought each other. The young woman tried to maintain her Battle Meditation but it was nearly impossible during a fight; at least for a Padawan. "Cover me!" she shouted. The three men surrounded the woman in a triangular position as she took in a breath to concentrate._

_ The man were invigorated; their eagerness to continue the mission being boosted tremendously. Within minutes, the Sith fell. One of the men in the strike team bashed the door of the bridge in. At that moment, the ship unexpectedly jerked to the side, nearly knocking the Jedi off of their feet. Their target, Lord Revan, turned around as if nothing happened and positioned himself into Makashi position._

_ There was another blow to the ship, this time knocking everyone to their knees; the viewport behind the Lord began to crack. There was yet another blow, this time fatally wounding several of the crewmen on the bridge. The young woman lunged for the Sith, shouting "The Force fights with me!" The more experienced swordsman easily blocked the flurry of the young Jedi's attacks. The three other Jedi aimed for any troops, officers, and apprentices that would get in their squad leader's way._

_ "You cannot win, Revan! You will answer to the Council for your crimes against the Republic." Another hit, this time directly at the bridge of the ship, knocked the Sith Lord unconscious and almost bringing the Jedi with him. "I must complete the mission…" thought the woman. She reached for an emergency comm that would communicate her need for aid._

_ The woman reached for Revan's mask, catching a glimpse of his face, before being knocked unconscious by another blast._

* * *

My body twitched violently, almost causing me to fall of my bunk. The motions of the ship felt familiar to those in the dream; the feeling of being aboard a ship that was being attacked. An older man in a red uniform barged into the room and nearly pulled me out of the bunk.

"What the hell?" I asked him. "I could've gotten out of bed on my own, thanks."

"We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet! The Endar Spire is under attack! Hurry up – we don't have much time!" the man shouted as he shook my shoulders.

"Maybe if you would've have kept your hands off of me I could've been dressed by now." I said sarcastically. The man rolled his eyes and pushed me towards a nearby footlocker. "C'mon!"

"Who are you anyway?" I asked while pulling on a skintight mesh bodysuit.

"I'm Trask Ulgo, ensign with the Republic fleet. I'm you're bunk mate here on the Endar Spire, actually. We work opposite shifts; I guess that's why you haven't seen me before." he replied. "Now hurry up, we have to find Bastila! We have to make sure she leaves this ship alive!"

"Why does that name sound so familiar?" I asked while putting on the last of my armor.

"Bastila's the commanding officer on the Endar Spire. Well, not an officer, really. But she's the one in charge of this mission. One of our primary duties is to guarantee her survival in the event of an enemy attack! You swore an oath just like everyone else on this station, rookie. Now it's time to make good on that oath."

"Don't I know it…" I mumbled. Inside the footlocker were a stealth field generator, a short vibroblade and a basic blaster. They were far less inferior weaponry than what I had before being recruited, but I would have to make do with what was supplied.

Trask had begun entering security codes into the room's door. "Emergency lockdown has got this place shut down." he explained. A few seconds later and the door slid open. Two more Republic soldiers could be seen down the hall between the room and a larger hall. The three soldiers were shouting "For the Republic!" while dodging blaster bolts and shooting back at their aggressors.

Two of the men died before Trask and I were able to make it to the fire fight. Three sniper shots with the blaster took down the Sith soldiers. There were explosions to out left and right. The right hallway was caved in while the left hallway's doors were destroyed. The only way was forward. Several turns later and there was what looked like a dining area with two more Sith soldiers waiting.

Trask and I had ran through an endless amount of curves with Sith at every corner before we almost ended up a fight between a real, Force wielding, lightsaber toting, Sith and Jedi. An explosion above them killed both. The Republic solider that had been with us since our bunkrooms wanted to pick up a lightsaber from the Jedi but ended up being killed during another explosion. Trask and I continued to the bridge to find that there weren't any signs of a Jedi. Instead, we were treated to the sight of grenadiers and more Sith soldiers.

During the fight, we suffered minor blaster injuries; it was nothing a minor medpac could handle. According to Trask, we needed to get to the escape pods and that we were just about halfway there. As we walked through the next hall, we were treated to another threat. He was another Sith that twirled his double bladed red lightsaber. Trask unsheathed a vibroblade, locked the doors behind him before I could reach him and shouted for me to run for the escape pods while he bought me some time.

I flicked on the stealth field generator I wore around my waist and made a dash for the escape pods; occasionally glancing at my datapad to find the way. There were plenty more curves with plenty more Sith. One curve led to a room with a broken droid inside of it and a console. I heard static and then a beep.

"Carth Onasi here. There are Sith soldiers waiting for you in the room ahead. Behind that is a room that leads to the escape pods. Quickly, repair the droids or hack into the console to help dispatch the soldiers. I don't know how long I can keep the doors between them and I locked. Hurry!"

I pulled out my vibroblade and opened the door. Several shots, from three different people, judging by the amount of shots, flew towards me. I regretted not listening to my crew when they told me that I needed experience with droids or computers…A grenade and a few lucky shots did the job. The door into the next room opened automatically. "Come on! We need to get into the escape pods!" shouted a man, presumably Carth. Carth stood by an escape pod, punching in numbers into a console.

I jumped into the escape pod with Carth following behind me. I was pushed back into my seat as we were jettisoned into space. The Endar Spire exploded at the midsection a few minutes after we had left. The course coordinates for the pod were set for the planet beneath us. I remember feeling the planet's atmosphere pulling us in before passing out.

* * *

**Author's Note: Tell me what ya'll think.**


	3. Trapped

**-Emily-**

After my little interrogation, I was sent to a cell that contained another prisoner. It turned out he was a retired Republic officer that had been recently captured. I think I remember him giving me a weird Star Wars surname; Tsark or something like that. He wouldn't really tell me about how he got captured but a part of me didn't really want to know. The guy seemed like he was a good man but was a little rough around the edges; probably because he was on the Republic's side and in a Sith base.

All I know is that I spent a long time in the cell waiting for something to happen. I had a glimmer of hope in the beginning that at some point that I would get out; but hours turned into days and days must have turned into weeks. I fell into a routine of eating, taking a sonic shower (which was a weird sensation at first since all you felt was this weird vibrating all over), seeing the solider escorted out for "harmless questioning" (only to return barely conscious), and sleeping. I was expecting to be ruthlessly tortured by an interrogation droid soon. I started to feel skittish since it became clear that I would probably be stuck in a cell. I didn't even get an hour of exercise!

Naturally, I was elated when a Sith officer came into our cell one day claiming that someone had wanted to see me; I was craving any sort of contact outside of my cell by this point. Now that I think of it, maybe this _was_ torture; isolate a person until they would be willing to be down for anything. The officer had two heavily armed soldiers in shiny red armor escort me to another interrogation room; this one bigger and more extravagant, in a way, than the one I'd been in the first time I arrived onto the base. Like the first time, I was stuck in the room, staring at the walls, for even more time before anyone else came in to see me.

The officer that had escorted me in here eventually came back, this time with another man, one that was clearly not Sith. He was shorter than me by an inch or so; which is amazing since I'm four feet, eleven inches. The man was a human with a cleft chin and was covered up in layers of clothes. He had goggles on, a white head covering, a blue jacket – screw descriptions; he was Calo Nord, "one of the most famous bounty hunters in the galaxy" as Mission had described him in-game.

Needless to say, I don't know why he'd be here for me of all people.

"Our friend here offered to buy you up for a considerable sum, prisoner." said the officer. "By the time you get ready to leave, we will have already finished processing you out. I suggest you move quickly as Calo here is not the most patient of people." The officer put a backpack on the table I was sitting behind. A quick look inside revealed the robes and boots that were so popular among the people of Taris. They were of a lower quality and felt a little rough. Along with that were remnants of the clothing I was wearing before I dropped in the Star Wars universe; my favorite pair of stretchy skinny jeans, a salmon colored short sleeved shirt, neon yellow socks, undergarments, and my black hair elastic. My stuff looked torn up and a bit bloodied so it would seem as if my new set of robes were the way to go. I'm a picky person so hopefully they fit well enough.

* * *

It took me a while to figure out how to get dressed again but I managed. Calo walked back into the room as soon as I had finished tying the strings to one of my new boots. A part of me suspected that there is a two-way mirror somewhere in the room since Calo's timing was spot on. Following behind him were the Sith. The officer and his guards led us through who-knows-how-many curved hallways that looked similar, into a reception / entrance area, and out of the Sith military base onto the streets of the Upper City. The guards watched us walk away from the base until we were an acceptable distance away.

Speaking of the Upper City, KotOR doesn't do reality any wonder. To be fair; the game came out in 2003 and video games couldn't match reality, nor can they with today's technology, for that matter. The city had the tall rounded skyscrapers, the platforms people would walk on that were placed conveniently around speeder lanes, and bunch of haughty humans walking around doing their business, just like in the games; but it all seemed so different. For one, the amount of buildings and people were completely different. New York City is my home and I've been to Manhattan often enough, but I don't ever recall seeing this much going on. Not only that, but if 14th street or 42nd street were beautiful at night, Taris was somehow better. Everything was so much more beautiful; probably because of the advanced technology here. It might not be too bad of a guess that the beauty was meant to make up for the Sith occupation, daily crime and corruption, and the bigoted upper class that lived and worked up here in the Upper City.

Almost bumping into a droid brought me to my senses. I looked for Calo and noticed he was several feet away giving me a stern look. It might have been the fact that I must have looked like a tourist and was attracting attention by bumping into things. I quickened my pace and focused on walking close behind him.

Being that I would probably be stuck with the guy, it might have been best to make with the friendly. "So, why'd you buy me out of that place?" I asked. No reply. "Well? A big bad bounty hunter won't spend money in trying to get a prisoner out for nothing; so why'd you do it?" Calo remained silent. "Come on, brother." I whined. "I'll leave you alone, for now, but eventually I'll make you to talk to me."

* * *

Calo wouldn't budge, no matter what I did, so we walked in silence all the way to the elevators that went down to the Lower City. The game made the walk seem like it would take seconds but the elevator, by my estimates, was around three and a half miles away from the base; I was fatigued by the time we got there (hey – don't judge). Not only that, but there were two checkpoints between the base and the rest of the city. Luckily, Calo and I only had to check in with the Sith by the elevator. Calo pulled out a datapad from a pocket in his jacket and flashed it to the guard. We were granted access almost immediately.

I might have mentioned this already, but I have to say another fault that KotOR has is not accurately representing the time it took to get from Point A to Point B. The elevator was very, very, excruciatingly slow. It kind of reminded me of that elevator in Deus Ex: Human Revolution that Adam had to use to get to the Funicular; the one that took like five real-time minutes. I was kind of expecting a mandatory elevator boss fight. Sadly, my life isn't that exciting…Wait, scratch that, I'm in the Star Wars universe; my life is very exciting. My head should be about to explode from excitement right about now.

Again, I say "sadly" when realizing life isn't all that fun when you enter another universe. The Lower City wasn't just a part of a beloved video game anymore. The walls and ground were cracked and had gross dark brown grime covering them. Wires in the ceiling had broken and sparks flew out of them, just like in the game. The screams of people begging to be let go and the shots of blaster fire could be heard in the distance. The smell of the place is pretty bad. It smelled kind of like the projects back home; years of cigarette smoke, marijuana use (and other drug use), and urine clung onto the walls. In the Lower City, the smell was ten times worse. It also smelled vaguely like burning flames and oil; likely because this was where most of the swoop bike action took place.

Calo tensed up, moving his hand towards his blasters as we walked towards out left. If memory served correct, we were walking towards the Undercity's elevator. I looked over my shoulder on occasion to make sure there weren't any surprises from any of the Black Vulkars or other smaller gangs. My theory eventually proved right as we passed Javyar's Cantina and the Hidden Bek base; the bouncer and the guard in front of their respective posts giving us a suspicious look. Shortly thereafter, we were in front of a door that I remembered as being the apartments that Calo killed those Rodians in.

"Stay out here." ordered Calo. "And take this." I was handed a blaster (which was surprisingly light) while the door in front of Calo slid open with the wave of a hand. I sighed, leaned up against a wall, one arm grabbing the other by the elbow, waiting for the bounty hunter to finish carrying out his bounty. As luck would have it, two men turned the corner. I immediately recognized the ugly orange jacket that Carth wore in-game. Both men gave me a strange look.

"Something wrong, miss?" asked Carth.

"Nope." I replied quickly. Carth, and the man I assumed to be Revan, shot each other glances.

"Hello, my name's Waron Khaar…Care to tell us the reason you're hanging around here with a blaster in your hand?" asked Revan. I should note that I have a bad habit of saying more than I should.

"Well, I'm waiting for someone out here." I replied.

"You're waiting for someone with a blaster?" asked Revan, or Waron as he calls himself.

"That seems pretty suspicious to me." added Carth.

"We're in the Lower City." I explained.

"Exactly why we're asking." quipped Carth.

"I didn't mean that and you know it." I retorted, giving Carth the best evil eye I could muster. Being that he was a soldier for longer that I'd been alive and that he was a parent of two, I wasn't surprised he wasn't affected even the slightest bit.

"Come on kid, you're coming with us. We have to keep you out of trouble." said Waron.

"Afraid that can't happen." I replied.

"Why not?" asked Waron. Calo killed those two Rodians right near the entrance of the apartments. I hope the Force had something bigger planned for me and stalled the guy long enough for me to duck and run.

"Well," I started, "I was bought by someone and now I'm here stuck following him. He went in there," I pointed to the apartment door, "and told me to wait out here while he finished business. He went in right before you guys came around."

"You were bought?" asked Waron.

"Yep. I'm pretty sure I would be considered a servant at this point. Not that the Sith or any other Taris officials would care since Calo Nord owns me now." I replied.

"I thought slavery was illegal here on Taris…But; Calo Nord?" asked Carth placing emphasis on every syllable of the bounty hunter's name.

"Yes." I replied.

"Alright, we're definitely making you come with us. A kid doesn't need to be caught up with someone like that." declared Waron.

"I think we'd be getting her into even more trouble." warned Carth.

"Calo's a bounty hunter. I'm willing to bet that he would get her into the business of murder for credits and a list of other crimes." countered Waron.

"Waron," Carth said sternly, "we can't pick up random people off of the street. Besides, there are thousands, if not millions, just like her. We can't help every one of them. Besides, why should we trust her?"

I opened my mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Waron. "I think we should give her a chance." Carth looked disgruntled.

"How about we get away from the danger of a famous; or infamous - whatever floats your boat - bounty hunter and the attention we're probably attracting from the gangs down here?" I suggested.

"She's right, Carth. We should keep moving." agreed Waron.

"Fine." Carth sighed. "But the moment we get to a safer planet, we're dropping the kid off." said Carth. Waron went quiet for a moment.

"What's your name?" asked Waron.

"Emily. It's a pleasure to meet the two of you gentleman." I smiled.

It might now be a good time to mention I have a dark cloud of bad luck that always over my head. Calo exited the apartments just as I bounced myself off of the wall to leave with Waron and Carth. I second my the comments I made some time ago: Oh boy. Omigosh. Oh dear.


End file.
